Sara Ahmed speaks to the intense difficulties that feminists face and the extra struggles added to feminists of color. The information is enlightening, especially as I have no knowledge beforehand about these topics. Looking more specifically at “The figure of the angry black woman” and starting with the emotion of anger, in a society where showing any kind of emotion is unprofessional and showing your anger and unacceptance of something could be considered sacrilege. As Ahmed says “
“Reasonable, thoughtful arguments are dismissed as anger . . .” because it is something that isn’t agreed upon in society, therefore, needs to be pushed away and rejected. You might not even be specifically angry and just feeling strongly about a specific topic you are disagreeing on, but because of those strong feelings and your disagreement of that specific topic you are seen as unprofessional and can’t separate your emotions from facts, even if the facts that you say are truthful. In the end, this rejection and dismissal can make you angry which seems to become “read as confirmation”.
When you take what I’ve said before and add that you are a woman of color you lose a lot of visibility and can already be dismissed before a word has left your mouth. When you look at the relationship between white women and women of color, there is a double standard. It seems that woman of color needs to fight with the same feminist Ideals but sacrifice their own in the process of helping “white women . . . getting past guilt”. If a woman of color were “to speak out of anger” she is immediately a “cause of tension” for stating the racism in feminist groups and not allowing white women to get past their “guilt”.
In relation to Sister Outsider “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism” by Audre Lorde states that “Women responding to racism means women responding to anger” (124), this makes it seem as if it is unavoidable and inevitable, and it is unavoidable because this anger comes from “exclusion, of unquestioned privilege, of racial distortions, of silence, ill-use, stereotyping, defensiveness, misnaming, betrayal, and co-optation.” (124) Lorde wants us to not fear the anger but use it as fuel for growth as “corrective surgery, not guilt” (124). Without the anger that both Ahmed and Lorde state there would be no change and there would be no fuel to give women the drive in order to speak out and force the problems to be seen and heard and hopefully, to create change.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Why do you think it is frowned upon to show emotions in a professional setting when bringing up issues such as racism?
- How effective is the use of anger, especially for women of color?
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Hi Sam, I really liked your blog. These are also ideas I haven’t heard of until reading “Feminist Killjoys” by Sara Ahmed. I feel like these ideas are ones that I didn’t realize being a white woman. I know how our emotions are perceived definitely is directly correlated to our race. What I mean by that is that if I were to express anger publically people might apologize or not feel threatened by my anger, but if a black women were to express her emotions such as anger in public, people might feel threatened. This is something that I feel we need to work on as society because in all realness our emotions are just feelings and race shouldn’t determine how we chose to perceive them. Also, I feel like showing our emotions in a Profesional setting is frowned upon because people might not take you seriously. I think I’m lucky enough not to be judged too much over emotions, but someone who isn’t white might especially be seen much differently than me. They probably would be seen as being too hostile. Lorde states in sister outsider “speak out of a direct and particular anger at a particular academic conference, and a white woman comes up and says, “Tell me how
you feel but don’t say it too harshly or I cannot hear you.” But is it my manner that keeps her from hearing, or the message that her life may change”(278). I think the major idea is that we need to stop viewing black women as hostile and just to listen to what they are telling us. That is the first step to not just thinking about emotions; we need to hear what we are actually being told.
Hi Sam!
I am impressed by your understanding of Sara Ahmed’s message not to interpret emotions as unprofessionalism. Although you said this was one of your first times tackling this type of feminist reading, you did a great job by expressing the difference between a person of color’s emotions, how they get viewed in comparison to a white person’s expression of feelings. To answer your second question, it is difficult to measure how effective expressing anger is with women of color. Even if anger is not meant to be expressed, the action done linked to the feeling of anger is usually quite exaggerated by white people or others in authority/professional setting. The party with the most power could manipulate how the person of color was coming across if they were passionate about a topic. As Ahmed says, “You cannot always close the gap between how you do feel and how you should feel.” How you “should feel” is only structured that way because of normative whiteness, a term that comes from white people and the white culture deeming certain behaviors or things in society as “normal.” The link of emotion to unprofessionalism is due to stigmas made for women of color. Just as people of color are looked down upon for laughing out loud in a movie theatre, the emotion that exudes through people of color is a form of art that is continuously hushed in various ways.
Hey Sam,
I enjoyed your analysis of Feminist Killjoys very much. It is true that our society devalues emotions, which is why Audre Lorde had such a hard time growing up, as discussed in her interview with Adrienne Rich. In American culture, there is a binary instituted for the ability to to feel emotions and the ability to rationalize. I believe it is worse for women since there is a common stereotype that women are more emotional than rational. However, I don’t believe that emotions and reason have to contradict. As a matter of fact I would argue that emotions are the basis in which reason forms. Emotions are sort of instinctual intuitions which guide us in our logical processes. This being said, I don’t think given the circumstances, that anger is effective for women of color. This allows for people to dehumanize and demonize them due to a lack of sympathy. In order to decrease marginalization and oppression I think black women should attempt to portray themselves as kind, unique, and emotionally reserved in order to combat the stereotypes being formed.
Hey Sam,
Great blog post you definitely captured all the essential key topics in the readings assigned. As a stereotype women are preserved as “emotional” and men are the ones who are “reasonable.” The root problem of this stereotype is sexism, however, if women of color are the ones being “emotional” in a professional environment then racism is another component to the problem. Both Audre Lorde and Sara Ahmed acknowledge the anger they have and want to use it to make a difference in society, as Audre Lorde stated in ‘Use of Anger’, “This hatred and our anger are very different. Hatred is the fury of those who do not share our goals, and its object is death and destruction. Anger is a grief of distortion between peers, and its object is change (129).” An angry black woman in comparison to an angry white woman holds a different stance. Some people may believe the angry black woman possesses a threat and might become violate, or that her emotions are unjustified. Whereas if a white woman were to become mad then the public may believe her emotions and actions are justified and she possess no threat. There have been many instances where Latina and Black women have been shot, detained, and have dealt with police brutality because they have shown anger. Even in our current society people of color have told their children to take safety precautions if they ever deal with police or people of authority so they do not increase their risk of police brutality or even getting shot. This is a continuous cycle that women/mothers of color face along with more generations to come if racism within our society is not corrected.
Hi Sam!
I was very impressed by your understanding of the readings. It really showed how some in the professional world and in the world in general are viewed as “emotional” whereas men are viewed as “stoic, reasonable”. How to this day women can’t really seem to break that distinction. Sexism is still very much prevalent in society. But the readings brought a widening view in the sense of intersectionality. Women of color and sexism which in turn leads to a whole slew of racism. Both Lorde and Ahmed want to take that anger at this situation and help mold it into a way of bettering society. Lorde makes a compelling and insightful quote “This hatred and our anger are very different. Hatred is the fury of those who do not share our goals, and its object is death and destruction. Anger is a grief of distortion between peers, and its object is change (129).” There is a unsettling and stark difference between the anger of a white women and a black women. Anger in any black person seems to insight a level of fear whereas anger in a white person is seen as an inconvenience. But this anger in black people even women that lends itself for people to fear them is what leads to violence. In forms of police beatings, shootings, attacks… It leads whites to look down on blacks as the “savages” that they were proclaimed to be when whites brought them over as slaves. It’s a prevalent notion to this day. It leads to families training their young children to have precautions in place for a time if ever stopped by a cop. It has lead to demanding someone record the situation so that if anything were to happen there is a record not able to be meddled with. A grave way of life that women/mothers of color face that one day their babies will be shot or killed because of this anger that insights whites with a fear, that says shoot before the animal before you question.
Hi Sam, I enjoyed reading your post! It helped me understand Sara Ahmed’s article better. This article struck me at first because, as a white woman, I never took into account that black woman’s emotions are often oppressed. I was always taught that showing too much emotion in a work environment looks unprofessional, but I never fully understood why. I was raised to believe that anger can get the best of us and make us, as woman, seem irrational. Race shouldn’t be correlated to emotions because everyone feels emotions. I now realize that emotions are natural and necessary. I can’t relate to a woman of color getting angry because I believe it is viewed differently than if a white woman were to get angry. I think this is completely unfair and society needs to reevaluate emotions and understand it’s okay to be angry. Ahmed said “you are “already read” as “not easy to get along with” when you name yourself as a feminist”, this line really stood out to me. I consider myself a feminist and it confuses me that I would be read as a difficult person. This is rooted in sexism. The fact that society has oppressed black woman for getting angry, just as white woman do, boggles my mind. Ahmed’s article really opened my eyes to how unfair society can be against woman, especially black woman.
Hi Sam! I really enjoyed your blog of your analysis on Feminist Killjoys by Sara Ahmed. I think this relates a lot to what Audre Lorde tried to express throughout her life. In Lorde’s Uses of Anger, she is taking a similar approach to what Ahmed is trying to explain in Feminist Killjoys. I found these ideas of feminism enlightening. I found them enlightening because, as a white woman I always thought of myself as inclusive of all races and identities but what Lorde and Ahmed addressed in both of their essays really spoke to me. They spoke to me because I realized that in order to really be a feminist, I need to actively change the patriarchal world in which I live in. In order to do that I need to not just believe that racism is wrong but correct people who are racist. Lorde said in her essay that when she was a in a supermarket a “little white girl riding past in her mother’s cart calls out excitedly, ‘Oh look, Mommy, a baby maid” to Lorde’s two-year-old daughter. But, as Lorde states. The mother of the white girl just shushed her instead of corrected her. I thought this was really important of Lorde to include in her essay because we need to, as women, correct and teach our younger generations the anger to which Black Women feel because they are oppressed. We need to teach younger generations that racism is not okay and then actively change it.
Hi Sam! I really liked your blog post it helped me to understand Sara Ahmed’s “Feminist Killjoys”. I have never taken a step back to look at people’s emotions and how peoples race can affect how others view these emotions. After reading your blog post I have a much deeper understanding. I was raised to leave personal emotions out of professional relationships because these emotions could blur the ‘professional’ line. I thought this to be true for everyone, no matter what gender or race. Audre Lorde says, “Anger is a grief of distortion between peers, and its object is change (129).” I think this quote shows how anger is viewed differently because of your race, which I believe to be unfair.
Hi Sam, this was an absolutely phenomenal analysis of the text! I thoroughly enjoyed your input and how you made your own inferences on such a sensitive topic. While I have always thought to keep my emotions out of the professional field, I now realize that it is a necessity to some people. “We need to give a history to unhappiness. We need to hear in unhappiness more than the negation of the ‘un.'” I feel this quote really hit home with me. Emotions are necessary in everyone’s life and for people to be unhappy shows a lot about what irritates or causes them negative emotions. I believe that when someone hears the word “professional” they tend to keep emotions on the back-burner just because people have always done this, but we live in a different society today. More people are advocating for mental health so I think emotions should absolutely be utilized in the professional field.
Hi Sam!
I really enjoyed your post. To answer your second question, whenever a women shows any sort of emotion, especially in a professional setting, we are immediately critiqued for it. Looking at professional tennis player, Serena Williams, she was playing in a match and clearly being discriminated against by the referees. When she showed her anger she was blasted all over social media for it. She has been fined thousands of dollars for expressing her anger over unfair calls that came from biased referees. Looking at male athletes like Dennis Rodman who have fought on the court or walked out in the middle of the game for calls they found unfair, they have never been fined. Lorde says, “Anger is a grief of distortion between peers, and its object is change” (129). This really drives both mine and your point that when a women of color acts out in anger, she is seen as someone who can not control herself or emotions, but when a man does it, people simply look the other way.